News Archive (6192)
Amador County – Amador Supervisors on Tuesday supported the Amador Water Agency’s bid for a Gravity Supply Line, and criticized opponents.
Supervisor Richard Forster said it was unfortunate that a Proposition 218 protest stopped a rate increase in the Central Amador Water Project service area, but he appreciated that they made that vote. He said it was also unfortunate that Upcountry residents “were given a lot of misinformation and half-truths” about the project.
Forster said it is not about growth or no-growth but about having a reliable water supply for that area, and sufficient water for fire suppression. A 1991 study of Upcountry fire hydrants led the agency to want the Gravity Supply Line, but they did not have the money. Now, they have a USDA grant, but “a small group of individuals is going around trying to stop this project by putting out misinformation.”
Supervisor Louis Boitano said “there is a dark side out there.” He read from a letter he received, which said that if he supported the fire resolution, the “actions would have very dark consequences for you and the other board members.” The letter said “this is not just about capital improvement projects.”
Debbie Dunn, former AWA vice president, spoke, saying fire is an extremely important issue, but it is not an issue to be addressed by “water purveyors.” She said the GSL was a capital improvement project, and the “fire benefits are completely ancillary.”
Forster said “I think it’s a travesty,” that Dunn sat on the AWA board for 2 years and could not see that the “purpose of the Gravity Supply Line is for reliability” for both potable water and for fire, for all uses, and “also to save that money for the customers.” Forster said “that’s why the Gravity Supply Line should be supported.” He said “it’s a travesty that you are out there fighting this.”
Dunn said she was “representing the majority,” as shown by the Prop 218 protest, in her fighting against the GSL.
Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said “we do our job, and we do our homework.” He said they need information from reliable sources, “not from ideological zealots.” He said AWA is the purveyor of water, the rights are there, and the ability to get the GSL is there, to make it a reliable water source, and “it makes good common sense.”
Plasse said “stopping water supply projects should never be the job of the directors of a public agency, and I think that was spelled out loud and clear in the last election.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Supervisors decide to leave the Cooperative Extension office funded for another year
Written by Tom
Amador County – Amador County Supervisors reconsidered funding for the University of California Cooperative Extension office on Tuesday, then agreed to leave the funding in place.
Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said reconsideration of the UCCE’s $154,000 budget approval was brought about only to see if the same funds could be used more efficiently to offer the same programs locally, and to help to retain local jobs. He said it came about after serious budget issues emerged, when county employees voted to return to 40-hour work-weeks.
In a conversation with County Administrative Officer Chuck Iley, Plasse said it meant the county faced potential layoffs for 17-18 employees, and even after that would still face a $200,000 deficit.
Plasse said he thought they could try to hire local employees to deliver those same services, and see if the UCCE was “not the only program that can provide support for those services.”
Supervisor Brian Oneto was worried about “misinformation put forth” saying he “or the board did not support ag in the county. It’s very incorrect.” Supervisor Ted Novelli said it was presented by UCCE that there would be a loss of a county employee, and local funds would go to UCCE, so the board looked into whether it was worth doing the programs internally.
Cooperative Extension Director Scott Oneto said “we’re not here to strong-arm the county and say, pay the $150,000 or we will get out.” He said it is a very important piece of the UCCE budget, “and without that, our partnership falls apart.”
He said they had two county employees, a full time 4-H coordinator, and a part-time clerical. They eliminated the clerical position, to consolidate administrative work in El Dorado County, the main office of the four-county Region. Scott Oneto said they also looked at laying off the coordinator, and replacing him with a locally hired Cooperative employee.
4-H Coordinator Larry Fossen, is retiring next year, so they put off that plan. Fossen told supervisors that the University did a good job setting up the reorganization, and it will help Amador County. He said centralized paperwork frees up his time to develop programs. Fossen monitors, manages, and administrates, and an “academic advisor” looks to help supplement local staff and needs.”
Fossen said: “I do support and I do appreciate that reorganization, and the way it’s going, it will improve the program.”
Scores in attendance included half a dozen kids in 4-H scarves, and the colored shirts of Master Gardeners, two of the groups that are under the Extension’s umbrella. No action by Supervisors left the funding in place for the year, with Supervisors agreeing to look at how programs are handled through the year and see if any changes occur.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Supervisors pass a resolution supporting the Gravity Supply Line
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador County Board of
Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday supporting the
Amador Water Agency in its pursuit of a Gravity Supply Line in the
upcountry, and urging AWA to complete the project.
Rich Farrington brought the resolution to Supervisors, with a support letter from the Amador County Fire Chiefs’ Association, and pending support of the Amador Fire Safe Council (for the Chiefs’ letter). One of the chiefs, Amador Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Dave Bellerive said “we’re in complete support of it.”
Association President Charles Blankenheim in an Aug. 9, 2010 letter with the resolution said “providing hydrants at locations wherever the pipeline intersects county, state, federal or Sierra Pacific Industries roadways will mitigate any impact on the fire agencies, and will actually improve fire suppression activities in the areas affected by providing a pressurized system that can be utilized for quick filling and transport by engines and water tenders to both structure and wildland fires.”
The extensive resolution urged the “Amador Water Agency to build the Gravity Supply Line” in the Upcountry “to improve fire protection and secure a more reliable water supply system for the CAWP Water District.”
It said the Amador County General Plan Safety Element approved in 1974 “requires attention be given” to “wildfires, range fires, urban fires, and peak water supply requirements,” and it states that “major public projects which are found to be necessary for the mitigation, correction or control of hazards or problems indicated in these elements be included with appropriate attention in the individual jurisdiction Capital Improvement Programs.”
The resolution said a “1991 study for AWA by Engineering Alliance and Bartholomew Engineering “found that a large part of the Upcountry water system” cannot “meet the fire flow criteria in most areas.”
It noted the Fire Chiefs’ Association support, and said “Cal Fire has rated most of the Upcountry area as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.” The resolution noted that a “wildland-urban interface fire Upcountry could cause loss of life, destroy homes and commercial businesses, and result in a large loss of revenue to the County.”
It noted that a 2009 Wildfire in Auburn burned the Nevada Irrigation District, knocking out power to water pumps, “and 63 homes and 3 businesses were destroyed.” It said “the current pumping system shuts down an average of 40 times per year because of equipment and power failures.”
The resolution noted that the GSL would “improve fire protection Upcountry, provide a more reliable water supply, be a green energy project, save enough on electrical pumping costs to pay for the GSL and the associated costs during the life of the project, and create jobs in Amador County.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jackson seeks applicants for its Design Review Committee
Written by Tom
Amador County – Jackson City Council on Monday authorized advertising for professional, preferably local, applicants to a new Design Review Committee.
City Manager Mike Daly said he would immediately advertise for prospective Committee members on the city website, and would place member selection on the City Council’s Aug. 22 agenda.
City Planner Susan Peters said the Architecture Regulations Committee recommended a five-member Design Review Committee, “ideally made up of two architects or designers, two people in the building industry, and one other interested citizen.”
Daly asked the council if all of the members should be Jackson residents, because it may be difficult to find some specialized professionals who reside in the city. He said some who were involved in the Regulation Committee “work here in the city, but don’t live in the city.”
Councilman Wayne Garibaldi wondered on a forward basis, over the next 10 years, if interest would be enough to keep the Committee filled. Daly said it was possible, but by example, the Architecture Regulations Committee had a lot of interest. The Regulation Committee also recommended the Design Review Committee.
Mayor Connie Gonsalves said they should go ahead and open it up for applications and “let’s see who we get. If we get 5 or 10 people, great, then we can choose” who we want. Garibaldi said he would prefer applicants be Jackson residents, then Amador County residents, without it being a requirement for eligibility. The council agreed.
Planning Commission Vice Chairwoman Kathryn Devlin said “this has been my baby for the last year,” and “thanks for your support.” Devlin said one Jackson architect “brings a bright light” to Committee work, but lives outside the city. She said she likes the idea of opening it up to see who applies.
In public comment, Judy Jebian raised concern about public involvement, and “possible conflicts of interest” for contractors, or people who “represent interests.”
Gonsalves said bimonthly meetings are open to the public. Sweet said there is no conflict of interest, unless they receive money from a project. He said they must step down, and cannot benefit from a project they review.
Councilman Pat Crew asked about the terms of service for the Design Review Committee. Daly suggested staggered two-year appointments, with 1-year, and 2-year appointments at first, to initiate staggering.
Daly said he will get the announcement onto the city website Tuesday (July 28) and “hopefully we’ll attract some new people.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Supervisors warn that misinformation could hurt the AWA’s Gravity Supply Line
Written by Tom
Amador County – Amador County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday likened the foes of the Upcountry Gravity Supply Line to those who fought to try to save the Amador Canal. With good reason, as some of those foes were members of Protect the Historic Amador Waterways, which delayed the Amador Transmission Pipeline.
Supervisor Richard Forster, who served on the Amador Water Agency board of directors starting in 1992, said he saw the GSL as a no-brainer, and a needed project that should be completed, but costs could escalate because the project could be delayed for years.
He said a lot of intelligent Upcountry people are being given misinformation, about the Central Amador Water Project service area’s GSL project, and also in Camanche, about AWA plans for improvements there. Forster said the same thing happened to the Amador Transmission Pipeline, which began as a conservatively estimated $9 million project, and ended up costing $20 million, due to delays and court costs.
Forster said he found it ironic that the same people who delayed that project are grouping up to delay the Gravity Supply Line, in the CAWP service area, and work in Camanche. He said it is the job of the water agency to provide that water, and to ensure reliability.
AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said the Amador Transmission Pipeline cost was estimated in 1991 to be about $4 million, the same amount spent around that time to build an 18-inch pipeline from Sutter Creek to Ione. Supervisor Ted Novelli, also a former AWA director, said the cost of the Amador Transmission Pipeline eventually rose to $20 million, and those opponents “cost taxpayers a whole lot of money.”
Supervisor Brian Oneto remembered when the Transmission Pipeline was beginning, and the group began a fight to save the Amador Canal, which also crosses his property. He said: “We liked having the canal going through our property.” At the time, he wondered whether he should also fight it, but decided that it was “good for the people.” He said “if we fight it, it will cost a lot of money for people out here.”
Residents still fought to save the Amador Canal, the Pipeline was built, and cost AWA millions in court and through delays. Oneto said: “Those same people now are saying we’re going to help you and save you money? That’s bunk.”
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Highway 88 at Carson Pass will close daily for three hours on weekdays, and for up to two months
Written by Tom
Amador County – The California Department of
Transportation announced that a weekday, daily closure for three hours
of Highway 88 at Carson Pass will continue for about two months
starting next week, for blasting and “slope removal” along the highway,
in Alpine County.
Public Information Officer Chantel Miller of the Caltrans District 10 office in Stockton released details of the work plan last week, and issuing a traffic advisory for State Route 88 at Carson Pass in Alpine County. Work begins this week, with delays to be expected, and next week will begin the daily closure.
Miller said Caltrans “will work to repair the mountain slope at the Carson Pass, east of Kirkwood, near Red Lake Road. This project is necessary in order to improve safety at this location by decreasing the rock-fall activity and resulting debris from entering the roadway.”
Beginning Monday, Caltrans crews were to “perform one-way traffic control at the Carson Pass from just west of the National Forest Boundary to just east of the vista point. One-way traffic control will remain in effect for the duration of the project.”
Starting Tuesday, August 2, crews will close the highway daily, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Miller said “blasting and slope removal activities will occur daily during closures. The full closure is necessary to ensure the safety of both workers and motorists. This work is currently scheduled to be completed by the end of September.”
Motorists should expect 15 minute delays during the one-way traffic control and at least two hour delays during the full closures. Alternate routes should be taken whenever possible.
This work is scheduled to begin as listed, but is subject to change based on weather conditions.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jackson City Council will defer improvements for new veterinary clinic
Written by Tom
Amador County – Jackson City Council in early July voted 4-0 to draft an agreement to defer property improvements for five years at 257 New York Ranch Road, for a new veterinary clinic.
City Planner Susan Peters said a company wants to purchase the building, but defer improvements recommended in June by the Jackson “Site Plan Review Committee,” made up of Peters, Building Inspector Larry White, and City Engineer Roark Weber.
Recommendations include realigning New York Ranch Road; extending frontage curbs, gutters, and sidewalks; paved parking; a minimum one parking space per 500 square feet of floor space; and widening the driveway to 24 feet.
The property, north of Quail Hollow Commercial Center, is owned by Anne Lintz, who in a letter requested the Council “defer these improvements for a period of five years to allow the buyers of the property, Blue Oak Veterinary, time to become established.” She said “Mary Allen will likely be moving her Blue Oak Veterinary office to the location within several months of purchasing this property.”
City Manager Mike Daly said the city is in the process of applying for a Safe Routes to School grant for improvements on New York Ranch Road, including widening, realignment, and installation of sidewalks. He said the Site Plan Review Committee supported “the proposed deferred agreement because the improvements may be done under the grant as a single, cohesive project,” and if the City doesn’t get a grant, “improvements would need to be constructed by the property owner.”
Peters said it was the same agreement made with Lintz when she wanted to expand her business. Lintz told the Council: “I had the intention to improve it, but chose a different location.”
She said “I know the buyer can’t go through with the purchase if we don’t have this agreement.” The buyer “would have to do some work to make it ADA accessible,” though “technically could move in without any improvements.” Lintz said “you are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of improvements on that stretch.”
In public comment, Jack Georgette said he’d like to see implementation of improvements required in five years, whether on not “they pull the permit.”
Lintz told the Council she hoped that if she does not sell the building, or lease it for a commercial purpose, and wants to keep it as a house, that the Council does not require the improvements. She said the Council could name “Blue Oaks” or the “veterinary clinic” in the agreement.
Councilman Wayne Garibaldi asked: “Why do you have to realign New York Ranch Road at all? Peters said it was because the use change would affect traffic. Mayor Connie Gonsalves said ingress and egress safety would be affected.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
University Cooperative Extension Director Scott Oneto urges Supervisors to keep funding his program
Written by Tom
Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors will reconsider today whether to withhold funding for the University of California Cooperative Extension office that covers Amador and three other counties.
Supervisor Chairman John Plasse requested reconsideration of the $154,000 Amador County pays into the Cooperative Extension program, to see if money might better help the local Agriculture office with localized staffing.
Several people circulated sample letters, urging people to personalize the letters and send them to Supervisors. Scott Oneto, Cooperative Extension Director for the Amador region, sent one letter, saying “residents of Amador County would lose close to $1 million in program resources for the lack of support from Amador County government.”
In a July 14 letter to Master Gardener volunteers, Oneto said “if the county decides not to support Cooperative Extension, our entire department will be eliminated and all programs will be dissolved,” and the entire office would close.
It would mean loss of 4-H Youth Development, Master Gardener, Farm Advisor, Nutrition Advice, and Food Stamp Nutrition, and all ag programs. He said “services will not be available from other counties to help Amador County farmers, ranchers and residents.”
Oneto urged people to attend today’s Supervisor meeting. He supplied Supervisors’ contact information, and urged people to write to them, saying “they do count how many folks from each district contact them.”
Plymouth veterinarian Elida Malick circulated Oneto’s note, adding to it that “4-H in our county is in imminent danger of being dissolved. We need you to show your support.”
Malick said 4-H is “near and dear to my heart” and “has been an invaluable asset in the growth of my children and preparing them for adult life.” She said they learned the values of teamwork, “hard work, developed communication skills, poise and leadership ability,” and the “joy of working with their animals.”
Also circulating letters were Cathy Koos Breazeal of the Amador Fire Safe Council, Loraine Davis, and Kelly Trottier.
Oneto’s sample letter said UCCE’s roster of “80 Master Gardeners volunteered the equivalent of $86,000 worth of hours to staff the office.” He said UCCE volunteers “provide researched information to the public on ways to save money.”
He said Cooperative Extension brings $981,000 in “resources to the residents of Amador County to deliver Agriculture, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Nutrition, and Youth Development programs,” including 4-H.
Oneto said state and federal partners, volunteers and other funding provide 84 percent of Cooperative Extension’s total resources in Amador County, or $826,000; while Amador County provides 16 percent, with its $154,000 contribution.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ACRA reports five Prop 40 projects have been reimbursed for $730,000
Written by Tom
Amador County – In early July Amador County Recreation Agency reported that $730,000 in Proposition 40 funding had been reimbursed for five county renovation projects, while another $467,000 is pending.
ACRA Executive Director Tracey Towner-Yep gave a status report July 12 to the Amador County Board of Supervisors. She said: “Thanks for letting us lead these projects,” but next time she will not do them simultaneously. She said when she gets keys, she will turn them over to respective community groups.
River Pines Park renovation is finished and a conflict exists with the bill for $37,000, to be added to the final payment. Asphalt concerns were resolved, and the contractor extended the warranty by 4 years, to 5 years total. The last payment of $106,000 was expected by the middle of this month.
Towner-Yep said the Volcano Armory Hall had “change orders due to their lacking estimates.” It had $138,000 in reimbursement, with $208,000 pending.
Supervisor Ted Novelli asked if ACRA had addressed concerns raised by Volcano and Pine Grove CSDs. Towner-Yep said “nobody caught” the lack of outdoor lighting, so “we put them there,” same with the electricity for the kitchen. She said they have a “nice long list of change orders,” due to the “insufficient plans,” and will ask for adjustment of the bill.
Supervisor Richard Forster said the “community is a bit nit-picky up there.” Towner-Yep agreed both communities are nit-picking, but the plan lacked in “Uniform Building Code” for exit lighting, and in other areas they have “not followed through.”
Pine Grove Town Hall work was reimbursed $102,000, with $155,000 in final payments pending. It was slowed by delivery of a wheelchair lift from back east. The lift was also changed to give keyed access from below.
Plymouth’s Lodge Hill has been completed. Towner-Yep said, and the “views from there are amazing. You get up there and you notice that you are in the middle of a valley.” A final $95,000 payment was made in May, and ACRA received $1,950 from Plymouth for services.
Pioneer Park restrooms and snack shack renovation final payment of $99,700 was received June 27.
Novelli asked if she had received clarification on a $2,300 bill from Information Technology. Towner Yep said the Internet license fee was “per computer, and per user,” totaling $2,300.
She said I.T. “just went in and took the money. It’s never been a line-item, and I never received any forewarning.” She said she would like warning next year so she can budget for it.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Draft redistricting makes foothill counties congressional districts
Written by Tom
Amador County – Draft California redistricting maps in flux look to make some changes for Amador County representation, including placing Amador in a “Foothills” U.S. Congressional district apart from Sacramento, as well as in Foothill districts for state representation.
California Citizens Redistricting Commission Director of Communications Rob Wilcox said the “current interactive visualization” allows people to see the new maps as they come about. The Redistricting Commission met Thursday for a 6-hour work on the redistricting. Before that, the maps showed a prospective Congressional change in District 3, which U.S. Congressman Dan Lungren represents, and has led to Assemblywoman Alyson Huber admitting in various reports that she is contemplating a run in 2012 for Congress, against Lungren.
The first draft map showed a Congressional district made up of only Sacramento, and a “Foothills District,” which appears to take portions of Congressional districts 5, 3, 19 and 21, all in the Foothills. It does keep part of Sacramento County, and appears to include part of El Dorado County in District 5, as well as Amador, Calaveras and Alpine Counties in District 3. Part of the “Foothills District” appears to include part of Congressional District 19 southeast of Calaveras, including Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera Counties. The Foothill District also appears to reach south into, and include Fresno and Tulare Counties.
State Assembly District 10 redrawing also looks to remove and place Amador County with central and Foothill counties of Placer, El Dorado, Alpine, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin, and exclude Sacramento.
State Senate District 1 is redrawn to include more Northern California counties, and it removes Amador from that district. Amador County is placed again with Foothill counties, of Placer, El Dorado, Alpine, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Madera and Fresno Counties.
The Commission on July 13 launched what it called “an unprecedented interactive process where the public” can “view district visualizations online and submit written public comment in real time as the Commission meets.”
Commissioners “referred to the comment that they were receiving online during the meetings,” and encouraged the public to continue the interaction.
The Commission met July 15-16 for line drawing sessions for Northern and Southern California. It will release final district maps on or before Aug. 1, and vote on ratifying the maps Aug. 15.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
